#duchess josiana

[jvlesx]

thinkin abt this movie again

[aftout]

Off to lose interest in my court duties <3

[southwarkfair]

sketches for a very vague 1960s au

[brandnewfeeling]

Low-Res Josiana Wedding Screenshots <3

My Problematic Queen who has never done anything wrong. Ignore the allegations <3

[volatiledebasement]

A quick study of Duchess Josiana and the first try at stylisation of Gwynplaine.

Drawn on 04-25.08.23.

[oof-ow-my-bone]

Ruslan Gerasimenko as Barkilphedro

(feat. Galina Bezruk as Duchess Josiana)

Russian production of The Grinning Man, 18.12.2022

Photos by Julia Gubina

[thewarmestplacetohide]

I've never really watched any old horror movies (think like... pre-1980s?) because I'm kind of hesitant to deal with women either being totally absent or reduced to just boring damsels or love interests. Do you have any good recs to avoid this?

Something to keep in mind when watching older films: things have changed. Prejudice was rampant, social norms were different, and things like equal representation were almost nonexistent. I'm not saying to accept these things, just to be aware of them.

I also want to say that for me, a good female character is not necessarily a "strong" or intelligent one. A good female character, in my opinion, is someone who is interesting within the context of her story, even if she's a side character, love interest, etc.

I get the impression from your ask you probably agree since you specified boring. Anyway, some early horror female characters I really like include:

Bluebeard's wife in Bluebeard (1901): a young woman forced by her greedy father to marry a man with many dead wives.

Countess Margit in The Student of Prague (1913): a duchess betrothed to her cousin, whom she openly disdains; she falls in love with a poor university student.

Sister Edit in The Phantom Carriage (1921): a deeply compassionate nun, who, even on her deathbed, tries to save a man most would say does not deserve it.

Anna Holm in The Phantom Carriage (1921): a woman trapped by poverty in an abusive marriage.

Yvonne Orlac in The Hands of Orlac (1924): the devout wife of a pianist who must make a difficult choice and act as his caregiver after a traumatic accident.

Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera (1925): an opera singer who is tutored and abducted by the Phantom.

Gretchen in Faust: A German Folktale (1926): a kind woman shunned by her community after she gets pregnant outside of marriage. she's deeply tragic but the film's condemnation of her treatment is shockingly progressive.

Annabelle West in The Cat and the Canary (1927): the heir to a fortune, she has to stay sane for a night while trapped in a mansion with a killer and, worse, her extended family.

Duchess Josiana in The Man Who Laughs (1928): a horny, cruel duchess, I love to hate her.

Dea in The Man Who Laughs (1928): an endlessly kind, open-minded blind woman who loves the film's hero, regardless of his scars.

These are just examples from the 1910s and 20s! If I get more time, I'll expand further on this list, but my point is there are more good female characters throughout horror film history than one might expect!

[sci-firenegade]

The Man Who Laughs finally premieres in Portugal. They do not care for spelling. I don't know who Groinploine is and I'm too afraid to ask.

Diário de Lisboa, 21 January 1930

"The man who laughs"

Victor Hugo's masterpiece was transplanted to the Cinema. A very bold enterprise that Paul [Leni], the great germanic director who passed away a few months ago, embarked on.

To make a film out of "The Man Who Laughs" meant that one had to reconstruct a whole time period, an absolutist and despotic 17th century England, when all the Lords were intangible, with the right of death over the commoner.

Above all, it meant not to destroy the work's spirit, by finding equivalences in pictures to Victor Hugo's flights of genius.

It meant that one had to find an actor with a prodigious mask, capable of fixing Gwynplaine's heinousness and his permanent smile, in his ripped mouth.

Finally, it would take millions to revive the opulence, the prosperity of James II and Queen Anne's Court.

Well, all this was done patiently, tiredlessly. And in the end, "Universal" has released a very precious production to the world, that costed two hundred thousand pound sterling and took two years to make.

"The Man Who Laughs", the film that Cinema Condes premiered in a soirée today, is not an ostentatious production like many others. It's a marvel of modern cinematography, not only for its respect to the fidelity of the reconstruction, but also for the tireless and magnificence of its sequences. It's a haunting film and, as a spectacle, it owes nothing to "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "The Phantom of the Opera".

The action is well paced, maintaining a growing interest and evoking and captivaring.

The acting is most noble: Conrad Veidt, the famous German actor, presents in a stupendous, unrivalled creation, as the monstrous Gwynplaine.

Mary Philbin as Dea, the fair blind girl.

Olga Baclanova as the voluptuous and depraved Duchess Josiana. Cesare Gravina, as the philosopher Ursus and George Siegmann as Doctor Hardquanonne, the Comprachico surgeon. Brandon Hurst as the jester Barkilphedro. Josephine Crowell as Queen Anne.

Sam DeGrasse as James II. There are more than twenty actors and three thousand extras in the film.

[scrivellc]

@andessence starter for JOSIANA

This was not at all the kind of place that Orin would occupy if he had any say in the matter. While he did have a taste for comfortable living, setting foot inside a castle was a completely foreign and mostly unpleasant experience. But what was he supposed to do? Turn down an offer to treat the duchess for...whatever it was that was ailing her. The men who had been sent to fetch him had been tight lipped on that matter, which was maybe a red flag, but Orin had been in no position to deny the invitation. And even with his discomfort as he was led down the long hallway to the Duchess' room, it was fascinating to see how royalty lived.

It was gaudy and garish and imposing...all things he didn't hate individually but that were starting to feel overwhelming.

As they arrived at the door he was unceremoniously pushed inside, though he reflexively resisted, throwing his escorts a dirty look before the door was shut behind him, his presence announced in a way that almost seemed rushed. Orin furrowed his brow, removing his hat as he took a step into the room of his own accord. Any misgivings he had would need to wait as he had a patient to attend to.

"Your grace," he began, giving a small bow and doing his best to remember his manners. He hardly practiced them since most of his other clients were well beneath his social standing, but in this case he was sure he had no choice but to play nice. "You sent for me?"

[jvlesx]

you can tell what parts I gave up on lmao

[sixty-silver-wishes]

so for context my friend and I were watching The Man Who Laughs together for like the third time and . Duchess Josiana is . A Character

[southwarkfair]

rotating her <3

[o-the-mts]

Movie Review: The Man Who Laughs (1928)

Title: The Man Who Laughs Release Date: November 4, 1928 Director: Paul Leni Production Company: Universal Pictures Main Cast: Mary Philbin as Dea Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine Brandon Hurst as Barkilphedro Cesare Gravina as Ursus Olga Baclanova as Duchess Josiana Stuart Holmes as Lord Dirry-Moir Josephine Crowell as Queen Anne George Siegmann as Dr. Hardquanonne Sam De Grasse as King James…

[andessence]

do any of your muses enjoy fashion/ playing dress up? 👀

@odairing jojo's moment to shine!! duchess josiana's very into fashion, particularly the avant-garde and niche sub-cultures of fashion. practical clothing? she doesn't believe in that. the best outfits are almost unwearably insane. she has the money to spend on fashion as a hobby (but is also hugely wasteful, throwing out clothes she's worn maybe only twice in some cases) and the strong sense of personal style to not care too much about good taste, so she takes big risks in her outfits and is doing it purely for her own interests. dress up games are a fun little play space for her when she's in one of her regular stretches of malcontented ennui. she makes thirty in a row and sends them all to her friends to vote on which one she should commission a designer to make for her.

[unfried-mouth-wheat]

the raging hedonist herself!

[Image ID: A traditional drawing of Duchess Josiana from The Grinning Man. She is a black woman in a large powdered wig, garish jewelry, and a dress with floral embellishments. Her forehead is powdered and her lips and cheeks are dark. She is looking to the side with half lidded eyes and thick lashes. End ID]

[hamletteprinceofdenmark]

∞

Looks like our shuffles both made unusual choices! Like you, I’m going to go with a favourite moment rather than a particular lyric. It’s the end. It’s got to be the end. Gloria Onitiri’s voice is so beautiful and clear and gorgeous. Her range is insane, and this song really shows it off.

This is a song from the incredible musical The Grinning Man (hint hint wink wink click the link). The Grinning Man is hard to describe but please stick with at least until the puppet sequence (you’ll know the one believe me). It’s based off Victor Hugo’s book “The Man Who Laughs” and it’s about a young man who works in a freak show and everything that snowballs from there.

Quick warning, this musical is strange, whimsical, and macabre. TW/CW for hanging, fires, physical torture, emotional abuse (including some pretty heavy gaslighting) and body disfigurement. And puppets. Many puppets.

put a "∞" in my ask box and I'll shuffle my music player and give you my favorite lyric from the song that comes up.